Catching the Leaders on Heartbreak Hill: 16 Topics for the New Exec

Sixty days into my transition as an exec at Aternity, I feel like a runner just behind, but in sight of the lead pack in a marathon. Just like the chaser needs to push hard to catch up to the leaders, I’ve been focused on accelerating my ability to add value as a member of the leadership team.

In “The First 90 Days,” author Michael Watkins lays out an approach to structured learning which helps the new executive determine where to focus their effort. At this point, I’m about two-thirds of the way through that timeline, and I’m feeling confident about my progress.

With the 118th running of the Boston Marathon this week, it struck me that the two-thirds point of the marathon course is in the middle of the four Newton hills, which culminate between miles 20 and 21 at Heartbreak Hill. This section of the course is often where leaders are caught.

Boston Marathon Route

In fact, Heartbreak Hill is so named because of the dramatic finish of the 1936 Boston Marathon. Defending champion, John Kelley, whose statue now stands at mile 19, overtook Ellison “Tarzan” Brown and gave him a consolatory pat on the shoulder. This inspired Brown to overtake Kelley and go on to win, thus breaking Kelley’s heart.

The new exec shares a similar goal as the chaser of the lead pack at Boston. Make your move around the two-thirds point, so you catch up to the lead team by Heartbreak Hill. Just like there are 16 miles to the start of the Newton Hills, there are 16 key points for the new exec to tackle, in order to achieve this goal.